Washingtonville at risk of losing farmers market

Wednesday

May 1, 2013 at 2:00 AMMay 4, 2013 at 11:18 PM

Washingtonville — The village is at risk of losing its nascent farmers market, as the new administration struggles to pick up where former Mayor Kevin Hudson and former Trustee Scott Congiusti left off.

BY JOHN SULLIVAN

Washingtonville — The village is at risk of losing its nascent farmers market, as the new administration struggles to pick up where former Mayor Kevin Hudson and former Trustee Scott Congiusti left off.

"We walked into this thing totally cold, and we're starting from scratch," said new Mayor Dave Heintz, lamenting what he said was a lack of communication from either Hudson or Congiusti about the management of the market.

Started as a service project in 2011 with the Washingtonville School District, the market ran from June to October with seven vendors. It was run by Hudson and Congiusti, both of whom lost their seats in the March 19 election.

Hudson and Congiusti touted the seasonal market in campaign slogans and forums as one of the crowning achievements of Hudson's tenure. The two men, however, provided no help in continuing the market when they left office, Heintz contended.

"It was like with the keys," Heintz said, referring to several dozen keys Hudson left behind without any indication as to which locks they opened. "Everything was just, 'Here, you want it, you got it.'"

Hudson could not be reached for comment.

Heintz said it's unclear if the former mayor and trustee followed village law in their management of the market, as he has found checking accounts, unspent checks and other records for the market that neither Hudson nor Congiusti shared with other members of the Village Board. Village Attorney Ben Gailey is looking into the matter, as well as researching the village's options in continuing the market, the new mayor said.

"We're trying to see if we can get it up and running," he said.

Congiusti claimed the tenuousness of the market this summer results more from the new village administration's lack of commitment than issues of prior management. "It is easier to lie and blame others to prevent the market from returning in 2013, when the board should just be honest with the residents and say they don't want it," he said.

The market operated last year in the West Main Street parking lot of the former Village Hall, itself a symbol of the controversy surrounding the former mayor, who tore down the flood-damaged municipal building without engineering documents or the blessing of federal emergency management officials.

Beekeeper Kerri-Ann Lynch said the vendors who attended the market last year have grown tired of waiting for the new village leaders to make a decision. She has since gone to the Village of Chester, which has already asked its historical society to sponsor the market. The historical society will vote on the matter Wednesday.

"We are working very closely with Kerri-Ann," said John Orr, building inspector for the village, who has been overseeing the potential move of the Washingtonville open market to Chester's historical downtown. "We want this to happen, but I don't want to put the cart before the horse."